Pro-Life Page

by Steven Ertelt | Austin, TX | LifeNews.com | 3/27/14 11:26 PM

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a ruling upholding the Texas law Wendy Davis opposed that was responsible for closing abortion clinics in the Lone Star State.

In November, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia issued an opinion indicating the Supreme Court would not yet get involved in a case that has abortion facilities there appealing a law that has closed numerous abortion clinics that can’t protect women’s health.

Before that, in a big victory for pro-life advocates, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Judge Lee Yeakel of the Western District Court in Austin and restored key portions of a pro-life law in Texas that will ultimately stop abortions. Abortion clinics appealed that decision to the Supreme Court and Justice Scalia issued a ruling saying the high court would not stop the law while the case continued.

Now, the appeals court has issued a positive ruling, according to Texas Right to Life:

A panel of three judges in the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit released its ruling upholding HB2, Texas’ Pro-Life law, which took full effect in October of last year. The opinion affirms the constitutionality of the legislation passed last summer and rejects Planned Parenthood’s argument that HB2 places an “undue burden” upon abortionists, abortion facilities, and women seeking abortion.

The court upheld sections of the law that require abortionists hold admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, and that the dangerous RU-486 abortion drug be administered according to FDA procedure.  The judges wrote,

“The district court held that parts of both provisions were unconstitutional and granted, in substantial part, the requested injunctive relief.  A motions panel of this court granted a stay pending appeal, and the Supreme Court upheld the stay.  We conclude that both of the challenged provisions are constitutional and, therefore, reverse and render judgment, with one exception, for the State.”

There is a minor caveat to the ruling, abortionists who have applied for admitting privileges prior to the law going into effect, but have not yet received a reply from local hospitals may continue to commit abortions until their applications for privileges are officially denied.

The court asserted that higher standards for an abortionist are, in fact, justified,

“During these proceedings, Planned Parenthood conceded that at least 210 women in Texas annually must be hospitalized after seeking an abortion.  Witnesses on both sides further testified that some of the women who are hospitalized after an abortion have complications that require an Ob/Gyn specialist’s treatment.”

This is the third time recently that this Court of Appeals has upheld Pro-Life policies attacked by abortion advocates.  The same court upheld Texas’ 2011 Sonogram Law and a policy that kept the abortion business Planned Parenthood out of the taxpayer-funded Women’s Health Program.

The decision on House Bill 2 has been expected ever since the New Orleans hearing in Januarywhere the three-judge panel heard Planned Parenthood’s attempts to convince them that such measures provide an undue burden to women seeking abortion.  However, these claims made in court apparently had little effect on the judges, who seem to be unimpressed with the exaggerated nature of the lawsuit and that Planned Parenthood requested the Supreme Court’s precedent establishing the meaning of “undue burden” be overlooked by the Fifth Circuit Court.

Planned Parenthood may have jumped the gun in making such broad and overarching undue burden arguments.  The 5th Circuit justices wrote in their opinion; Planned Parenthood’s case required evidence that could only be provided after the law has been sufficiently applied.  Namely, Planned Parenthood would have to present the court with a sufficient number of documented cases in which the provisions of HB2 caused a severe impediment to a woman seeking an abortion.

“Women deserve real doctors, not transient abortionists who have no connection to their patients or their communities. The health and safety of women is more important than an abortionist’s bottom line–including the bottom line of Planned Parenthood, which is the nation’s largest abortion seller,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Steven H. Aden. “Planned Parenthood’s opposition to these basic health requirements is simply additional evidence that they care more about profit than about what’s best for women.”

A district court had previously struck down the two provisions in Planned Parenthood of Texas Surgical Health Services v. Abbott while upholding the remainder of the larger law of which they were a part. Planned Parenthood did not challenge the law’s prohibition on abortions that take place at 20 weeks or later, a provision based on evidence that demonstrates the baby can feel pain at that stage.

The 5th Circuit concluded that “the State acted within its prerogative to regulate the medical profession by heeding these patient-centered concerns and requiring abortion practitioners to obtain admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.”

“Against Planned Parenthood’s claims that these women can be adequately treated without the admitting-privileges requirement, the State showed that many hospitals lack an Ob/Gyn on call for emergencies,” the opinion explains. “Requiring abortion providers to have admitting privileges would also promote the continuity of care in all cases, reducing the risk of injury caused by miscommunication and misdiagnosis when a patient is transferred from one health care provider to another.”

“People may hold different views about abortion, but everyone can agree that Planned Parenthood should put the safety and health of women first,” Aden said. “Women’s lives should never play second fiddle to Planned Parenthood’s profit margin.”

Texas legislated in part because Planned Parenthood’s off-label usage of the drug led to numerous deaths and injuries to women.

by Lauren Enriquez | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 3/17/14 10:35 AM

Adopted at age nine from an orphanage, Mary Ann Kuharski knows first-hand that adoption is a blessing to parents and children alike. After she and her husband had their first two children, they began to consider adopting children with special needs.

Subsequently, they adopted six children domestically and abroad, and continued having children of their own. The total number of children in their home eventually grew to thirteen – and Mary Ann says that at one point, she had seven teenagers! After that, she says, “No one can tell me a problem I haven’t tackled.”

Mary Ann and her husband traveled far and wide to embrace their adopted children over the years: “We have one child from the Philippines, two from Vietnam. We have one from Calcutta, India, one Mexican-American who is partly American Indian, and one black American.”

Mary Ann faced parenting her large family with a positive perspective, with “humor and prayer,” she says, and she adds that “My philosophy is you can’t get through this life –if you are going to try to do it without humor and prayer, good luck.” Mary Ann kept things simple in her household, focusing on her ultimate goal, which she says is to help her children reach heaven. Above all else, she and her husband ensured that their family always attended church together.

She advocates that parents “lighten up” on the less important aspects of life, like expensive material possessions. Mary Ann recalls that her large family ‘s needs were met just fine with their one vehicle (a large van) and buying everything second-hand. Mary Ann’s husband earned the family’s sole income, and by thrifty living this was enough to support everyone’s needs.

As if raising thirteen kids were not enough of an extraordinary accomplishment, Mary Ann has been running Pro-Life Across America, an organization that spreads life-affirming values via a campaign of billboards. Last year alone, the organization ran seven thousand billboards. “We’re not here to condemn or judge,” she said. “We’re here to help that one person who sees an ad, or looks on the internet, and calls and says, ‘Do you have help for me?’

Kudos to Salt Lake’s CBS affiliate, KUTV, for running an interview with Mary Ann.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) expressed confidence Tuesday that the U.S. Supreme Court will strike down the Health and Human Services' controversial contraception mandate that requires employers to pay for birth control, including those that can lead to the early termination of pregnancies.

Speaking to CP Insider on Tuesday, Cruz said he's "confident that the U.S. Supreme Court is going to strike down the contraceptive mandate."

Cruz also expressed his support for Hobby Lobby Inc., an Oklahoma-based company whose owners are opposed to having to pay for four types of birth control (two types of IUDs, and Plan B and EllaOne), under Obamacare's employer mandate, or pay $1.3 million in fines each day.

Hobby Lobby does provide insurance that covers 16 of the 20 contraceptives that the HHS mandate requires under Obamacare, but its owners have religious objections to providing coverage for items they believe destroy human life.

"Under Obamacare, the Obama administration has granted exemptions for big business, its granted exemptions for members of Congress, its granted exemptions for those who walk the corridors of power," Cruz told CP in an exclusive interview.

"And yet, it is denying that same fair treatment to those who are practicing their religious faith. That is contrary to the law, its contrary to the Constitution. The question in this case is whether the American government can force Americans to violate the dictates of their faith," Cruz added. "Under the Constitution, under the First Amendment, under centuries of our tradition the answer is 'no.'"

Cruz was seated in the press gallery at the Supreme Court to hear the 90 minutes of oral arguments in the case,Kathleen Sebelius vs. Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialty Store vs. Sebelius.

Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Woods Specialties of Pennsylvania argued before the Supreme Court that the HHS mandate forces them to violate their religious beliefs.

Hobby Lobby is owned by the Green family who are Evangelical Christians, and Conestoga Woods is owned by the Hahn family who are Mennonite Christians.

Outside the courthouse protesters both supportive and critical of the HHS mandate held demonstrations amid heavy snowfall.

Barbara Green, a member of the family that owns and operates Hobby Lobby, said in a statement made to the press after oral arguments that she was "encouraged" by the proceedings.

"We were encouraged by today's argument. We are thankful that the Supreme Court took our case and we prayerfully await the Justices' decision," said Green.

Others, including Simon Brown of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, expressed a concern about the Court possibly ruling in favor of Hobby Lobby.

Brown wrote in a blog entry that Hobby Lobby's success might lead to more troubling trends.

"If corporations gain the right to be exempted from one law on religious grounds, there is no telling how many other statutes religious fundamentalists will seek to ignore in the future – all in the name of conscience," wrote Brown.

Cheryl Sullenger | South Bend, IN | LifeNews.com | 3/21/14 12:41 PM

Police executed a search warrant on Ulrich G. Klopfer’s Women’s Pavilion abortion clinic in South Bend, Indiana, seizing documents and other property on Wednesday, March 19, 2014.

Police from the St. Joseph County Special Victims Unit participated in the raid. It is unknown exactly what kind of documents or other evidence the search warrant allowed police to take. According to news reports, the police apparently made copies of the seized documents and returned the originals to Klopfer on Thursday.

Klopfer has faced a complicated tangle of legal issues in recent months.

Klopfer’s troubles began when volunteers with Indiana Right to Life filed 1,200 complaints against him for not reporting child sex abuse and other information required by the State based on Termination of Pregnancy reports obtained by the pro-life group through a public records act request.

The complaints prompted St. Joseph County Prosecutor Mike Dvorak to ask the Police Special Victim’s Unit to conduct acriminal investigation into the abortionist’s activities. This week’s raid on Klopfer’s South Bend abortion clinic is part of that investigation.

“We are encouraged to see that the Klopfer case is progressing and that authorities are taking the accusations seriously,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman, who consulted with Indiana Right to Life on their investigation into Klopfer’s practices.
“Klopfer’s abortion businesses are shoddy operations that are endangering the public. We are looking forward to justice being done and the women of Indiana being permanently protected from his apparently substandard and illegal practices.”

The Indiana Right to Life complaints have already produced impressive results.

In January, Klopfer was criminally charged by Lake County, Indiana, prosecutors with failing to file a timely report, a Class B Misdemeanor that carries a penalty of up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The charge is related to an incident of statutory rape on a 13-year-old girl. Klopfer, who gave the girl an abortion at his Gary, Indiana, abortion clinic in September, 2012, filed the report nearly four months later than state statute requires, leaving the girl at risk of further sexual abuse.

Also in January, Klopfer was forced to close his Fort Wayne abortion clinic due to his inability to obtain a required hospital transfer agreement or an emergency care pact with another physician.

In addition, there is no record that Klopfer has the required back-up emergency agreement for his clinics in Gary and South Bend. Klopfer has indicated that he does have a back-up agreement, but refuses to reveal even to state authorities the identity of the physician that has agreed to provide emergency hospital care for his injured patients.

This has prompted the Indiana legislature to introduce a bill that would require abortionists to reveal the name of their back-up physicians so that authorities can exercise oversight.

Now, more details are coming to light about the nature of Klopfer’s clinic operations.

Because of this week’s raid on Klopfer’s South Bend abortion clinic, the South Bend Tribuneobtained and published the results of state inspections that took place in 2010 and 2012 at Klopfer’s abortion clinics that reveal dozens of serious violations.

The violations included:

• Failure to comply with the 18 hour waiting period between the signing of consent forms and the abortion.
• Boxes of paper were found stored near a furnace, some papers within 1 inch of a heat source.
• Remains from an aborted baby stored in the same refrigerator as medications.
• Oxygen tanks and other emergency equipment lacking proper maintenance or just not working.
• Infection control lapses.
• Employees laundering soiled linens at home.
• A nitrous oxide tank discovered in 2010 with an expiration date of Dec. 3, 1989.
• General clutter and untidiness at his clinics that were “too numerous to list.”

“While the information revealed about the state of Klopfer’s clinics is shocking, our research into abortion industry practices indicates that these kinds of violations – and worse — are rampant throughout the abortion cartel nationwide,” said Newman. “Abortion clinics have been allowed to run amok over the lives and health of women for decades without set standards or oversight.”

However, in recent years, there have been significant strides taken by the pro-life supporters to expose these unsafe practices and pass legislation that is shutting down dangerous abortionists like Klopfer.

“The work of Indiana Right to Life in researching, exposing, and reporting abortion abuses in their state is a model we hope other pro-life groups will follow,” said Newman. “We know that when abortionists are brought to justice and abortion clinics close, women are protected and lives are saved.”

Steven Ertelt | Wilmington, DE | LifeNews.com | 3/20/14 12:27 PM

A pro-life group in Delaware is taking one of the former abortion facilities where notorious abortion practitioner Kermit Gosnell worked and is turning it into a food pantry and place for housing assistance.

Gosnell operated his “House of Horrors” abortion clinic in Philadelphia, where he killed babies in “live-birth abortions” in part by “snipping” their spinal cards. But Gosnell also worked at two Delaware abortion clinics, including the one in Wilmington called Atlantic Women’s Medical Services.

Now, Lutheran Community Services has bought the former abortion facility on Baynard Boulevard and officials tell a local news outlet they have plans for something better for the community.

“It has a bit of history. Kermit Gosnell was one of the doctors practicing there,” said spokeswoman Cher Frampton.

Gosnell was convicted of killing babies born alive at the clinic. Frampton says the building is getting a total makeover.

 

“We’re taking this negative and turning it into a positive for the community there. We’ll be able to provide emergency food, housing assistance, clothing,” she said.

Frampton says they plan to bless the building. A clean-up day is set for March 28. They hope to move in this fall.

by Steven Ertelt | Columbia, SC | LifeNews.com | 3/19/14 2:40 PM

The South Carolina state House has passed a bill, on an 84-29 vote, that would ban abortions after 20 weeks based on scientific evidence showing unborn children feel pain. Currently the state allows abortions up to 24 weeks of pregnancy unless the life of the mother is at risk.

A National Right to Life Committee poll found that 64 percent of Americans, and 70 percent of women, support a ban on post-fetal pain abortion. The same poll also found that American women, by an overwhelming majority of 62-27 percent, would be more likely to vote for lawmakers who support this bill.

Sponsoring Rep. Wendy Nanney says she’s not concerned that a federal court has ruled a similar bill in Arizona as unconstitutional. Supporters say a more conservative federal court would handle a lawsuit challenging South Carolina’s proposed law. They hope it eventually ends up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The science behind the concept of fetal pain is fully established and Dr. Steven Zielinski, an internal medicine physician from Oregon, is one of the leading researchers into it. He first published reports in the 1980s to validate research showing evidence for it.

He has testified before Congress that an unborn child could feel pain at “eight-and-a-half weeks and possibly earlier” and that a baby before birth “under the right circumstances, is capable of crying.”

He and his colleagues Dr. Vincent J. Collins and Thomas J. Marzen  were the top researchers to point to fetal pain decades ago. Collins, before his death, was Professor of Anesthesiology at Northwestern University and the University of Illinois and author of Principles of Anesthesiology, one of the leading medical texts on the control of pain.

“The functioning neurological structures necessary to suffer pain are developed early in a child’s development in the womb,” they wrote.

“Functioning neurological structures necessary for pain sensation are in place as early as 8 weeks, but certainly by 13 1/2 weeks of gestation. Sensory nerves, including nociceptors, reach the skin of the fetus before the 9th week of gestation. The first detectable brain activity occurs in the thalamus between the 8th and 10th weeks. The movement of electrical impulses through the neural fibers and spinal column takes place between 8 and 9 weeks gestation. By 13 1/2 weeks, the entire sensory nervous system functions as a whole in all parts of the body,” they continued.

With Zielinski and his colleagues the first to provide the scientific basis for the concept of fetal pain, Dr. Kanwaljeet Anand of the University of Arkansas Medical Center has provided further research to substantiate their work.

“The neural pathways are present for pain to be experienced quite early by unborn babies,” explains Steven Calvin, M.D., perinatologist, chair of the Program in Human Rights Medicine, University of Minnesota, where he teaches obstetrics.

by Shawn Carney | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 3/17/14 9:54 AM

St. Patrick’s Day should start with good news – and today we have plenty! So far during this campaign, we are aware of …… 142 babies who, through your prayers and the Lord’s mercy, have been saved from abortion.

Praise God!

Here are more stories of lives permanently changed on the sidewalks outside the abortion centers.

We’ve heard much good news from Tempe.

When prayer volunteers asked two young women if they wanted to talk, their answer was, “Yes. We heard you say you offer free ultrasounds.” Lisa in Tempe said the girls had become frustrated, as Planned Parenthood was running three hours behind schedule.

After the one who was considering abortion received information and a gift bag, she told Lisa she was going to keep her baby, “and went to one of our local pregnancy centers for genuine help.”

A mother and daughter pulled up to a volunteer holding a sign that said, “Pregnant? We can help.” As the mother got out of the car, the volunteer offered pro-life resources. She held out her hand, took the information without a word, got back in the car and drove away.

Two groups of women who were both there with friends scheduled for abortions came over and talked about options for their friends. They received literature and called their friends inside to talk to them. Both women left without having an abortion.

Lisa said, “Your continued prayers and witness will bring Christ to those who have become lost because of ‘choice.’”

In Cedar Rapids, a woman showed up early for her appointment at Planned Parenthood. “She was not pregnant,” Jim said, “and was going there for some other type of appointment.”

She told volunteers that she had come about a year ago, planning to have an abortion. But the sight of the people praying made her decide against it. She now has a 4-month-old daughter and is very happy.

“Although we suspect there were many other saves in the past,” Jim said, “this was the first confirmed one in Cedar Rapids. It makes us feel like the cold weather we had last spring was well worth it!”

Rita tells us there were two babies saved in Boston on one day. “Sidewalk counsellors were joined by a large group of people praying and singing hymns,” she said, “and many were holding 40 Days for Life signs.”

Volunteers rejoiced when a woman came out of Planned Parenthood and said, “Your prayers have been answered. I’m not going to do it.” And then it happened again!

LifeNews.com Note: Shawn Carney is the campaign director for the 40 Days for Life pro-life prayer campaign against abortion.

hying away from social issues is not a winning strategy for Republicans, whose rhetoric on those subjects has at times alienated voters and cost the GOP elections, party leaders are telling anti-abortion activists.

Instead, Republicans have got to figure out how to talk about abortion and gay marriage without ditching their values or scaring away voters, the officials told a confab Wednesday organized by the Susan B. Anthony List.

"So many voices in the party are saying, 'Shut up and sit down,'" said Gary Bauer, a conservative who ran for president in 2000. "They think the party needs to ignore that issue and spend time on really popular economic ideas."

They're just wrong, he and other conservatives argued. Winning votes is possible.

Black and Hispanic voters side with social conservatives on social issues such as abortion and gay marriage, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said. Republicans, however, are doing a poor job reaching out to those reliably Democratic blocs, he said.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said victories that sacrifice principles aren't worth winning, but a little compassion goes a long way.

Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., said some of her male colleagues need a lesson on how to talk about abortion rights without scaring away voters.

And Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., said candidates cannot hope the issue never comes up.

The political debate over abortion shows no signs of ending more than 40 years after the Supreme Court legalized the procedure in the case of Roe v. Wade. Young people today are somewhat more conservative on abortion than middle-aged Americans, but the nation is split on the deeply personal issue.

Therein lies potential and peril for Republican contenders.

"They're getting more votes (among black and Hispanic voters) than we are. That's how Obama beat us twice," Graham said.

Nationally, Obama carried 93 percent of black voters and 71 percent of the Hispanic vote, according to exit polls conducted for The Associated Press and television networks. But they also show uneasiness with liberal social positions in polling.

"The more we think about the baby, the better off we're going to be," Graham said. "We're going to win this argument, but it's going to take some time."

Wagner said campaigning is a minefield for candidates who aren't prepared to discuss their goals.

"We have to be so very careful," said Wagner, a former Republican National Committee leader and ambassador during President George W. Bush's tenure. "If you talk about the child, the humanity, the life, you message much better."

And Black said Republicans shouldn't try to dodge the issues: "They can go there, but they have to go there in a way that's compassionate."

Such calls for muted language on abortion ran counter to some of the other rhetoric offered from other party leaders through the daylong conference.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, a tea party favorite, noted that backers of abortion rights have chanted "Hail, Satan" to silence their enemies. "Arm-in-arm, chanting 'Hail, Satan,' embracing the right to take the life of a late-term child," Cruz said of supporters of abortion rights.

He was referencing protests in Austin, Texas, last year over an abortion bill. While anti-abortion activists were giving speeches and singing "Amazing Grace," others tried to drown them out with chants.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said those who support abortion rights favor a "culture of death" and engage in "savagery."

Former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a Kansas Supreme Court decision suspending his law license. His supporters argue he is the victim of "political persecution" for his investigations into abortion clinics in his state.

Kline's petition to the U.S. Supreme Court alleges that the state high court unfairly applied ethics rules because he was targeted for his political views and actions regarding abortion.

Kline was suspended from being able to practice law in Kansas in October based upon incidents that happened beginning in 2003, when he was attorney general for the state. Kline began investigating two abortion clinics in the state for possible abortion law violations and not reporting pregnancies of underage girls. That investigation began a long legal battle to obtain the records of the two clinics. The battle was still going when Kline lost his 2006 re-election contest. A successor would later drop all charges against the clinics.

"The request to the U.S. Supreme Court is loaded with support from other state courts and legal commentators. It asks the Court to rein in unforeseeable 'gotcha' ethics violations, which are especially relevant to lawyers dealing with politically contentious legal proceedings and invite political 'witch hunts,'" Tom Condit, lead attorney for Kline, said in a released statement.

Kline's petition is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review whether the Kansas attorney ethics rules are written so vaguely that they can be used to punish political opponents.

The last time the U.S. Supreme Court took up that issue was in 1991 in the case of Gentile vs. State Bar of Nevada. In that case, the court ruled that a Nevada ethics rule violated the First Amendment because it was so imprecise that it could be selectively enforced to punish opponents.

Life Legal Defense Foundation is supporting Kline in the case. Dana Cody, president and executive director of LLDF, argued that Kline is being politically persecuted.

"Phill Kline's ethics case has always carried a strong flavor of political persecution, a perception validated by how many of his so-called 'violations' arose from factual and legal novelties," she said.

Kline is currently an assistant professor of law at Liberty University.